China wins gold, bronze in javelin at World U18 C' ships in Kenya

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China won its first gold medal on Thursday at the IAAF World U18 Championship in Nairobi thanks to Liu Zhekai's performance in the boys' javelin.

Liu, a high school student from Beijing, set a personal best throw of 77.54 meters. He also won the javelin gold medal on the Asian Youth Championships in Bangkok in May.

Another Chinese athlete Song Qingshu won bronze in the boys' javelin with a throw of 73.63 meters, while South Africa's Johannes Schlebusch won silver.

Liu Zhekai in the javelin at the IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017. /Getty Images

The IAAF World U18 Championship is a global athletics event comprising track and field events for youth under 18. Organized by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and first held in 1999, the event is held biennially.

This year's event – from July 12 to 16 – is the tenth and last edition of the international competition as the IAAF won't organize global competitions for youth anymore but will shift towards driving regional and continental competitions.

China sent a 48-athlete delegation to the championship. They are competing in 30 competitions ranging from javelin to shot to long distance run.

China has won four medals, including a gold, a silver and two bronze. Germany leads the gold medal count with two.

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